The Red Rovers' 'D' was at the top of its game against rival Phillipsburg tonight.

Easton limited the struggling Stateliners to 6-for-35 shooting from the floor and coasted to a 44-22 victory in P'burg's gym.

It was Easton's second easy victory over P'burg (1-14) this season. The Red Rovers (13-4), ranked fifth in the Express-Times region, trounced the Stateliners 55-32 in the consolation game of the Easton Bennett Rotary Classic on Dec. 28.

Today, Easton harassed P'burg into 1-for-17 shooting in the first half. Red Rovers senior Xavier Jenkins, who scored 10 points, was the only player on either team in double figures.

"We did a great job on defense, which is good because we're a defensive team," said Easton junior reserve Tyler Jean-Baptist, who created havoc with his quickness and tenacity. "Our offense struggled a little bit but we're getting there."

Easton led 23-12 after the third quarter and opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run, which began with three straight field goals by junior forward Erik Oakley, to turn it into a rout. First year P'burg coach Don Gentzle, a former Easton player, was dismayed by his team's lackluster play.

"I'm disappointed," Gentzle said. "I thought the effort wasn't there. We started really slow and lethargic. We didn't take care of the basketball. If somebody told me we'd hold Easton to 23 points (going) into the fourth quarter, I'd tell everybody to show up. That's a game we win."

Easton didn't exactly light it up, either. The Red Rovers were 18-for-46 from the floor (39.1 percent) and 5-for-14 from the foul line. But it was enough.

"That's why I'm so disappointed," Gentzle said. "(Easton) was a bit off tonight and we didn't come to play."

"Their defense gave us some trouble," Easton coach Jim Hutnik said. "We didn't get real good looks. We weren't really patient out of our offensive sets. We got a lot of our points on fast breaks. Our defense fuels our offense. The kids really played good defense."

Jean-Baptist took over during a brief second quarter stretch which gave Easton a 17-2 lead. He snared a pair of defensive rebounds and proceeded to assist Jenkins and Ezra Gaines on fast break layups.

Jean-Baptist then came up with a steal and went solo for an easy deuce.

"The coach expects me to bring a spark off the bench," Jean-Baptist said. "That's what I did."

"Baptist provided a huge spark," Hutnik said. "He's the kind of kid who can really get down and defend somebody."

Despite P'burg's struggles, Jean-Baptist says Easton never took the game for granted.

"We don't take any team lightly," he said. "We just go out every day and do our job the best we can."